Please see email below from friend and activist Naeem Sadiq re Aitemad Pakistan, an organisation formed for flood relief. This is a highly trustworthy (Aitemad in fact means ‘trust’) group of people most of whom I know personally, including the sender, Naeem Sadiq, Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim, his son Zahid Ebrahim, Dr Samrina Hashmi, Dr Sher Shah Syed, Nazim Haji and others. Please spread the word. They are putting together and distributing 24,000 dry ration bags, to provide approximately two million meals (6000 families for 4 weeks). Each bag costs approx Rs.1500 (less than US $ 20 a bag).

We need to work on war footing. The situation is more dire than most of us can even imagine. Over 1600 dead, 20 million displaced – many of whom (especially children) face slow death from hunger, thirst, exposure, & water-borne diseases.

Pakistan faces a great human calamity. One tenth of its population stands helplessly between a distant, drowned and disappeared home on one side and no food, shelter or even hope on the other. The misery of hunger, disease and homelessness is unbearable. They need help and they need it now. Can the citizens of Pakistan unite once again to respond to this great human tragedy?

Led by Justice (Retd.) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim a group of citizens visited many affected districts of Sindh to take a first hand understanding of the nature and size of the problem and its possible solutions. We come back with a feeling that unless we as citizens put our shoulders together to create a massive relief effort, the misery and suffering of millions would be further compounded by each passing day. It was therefore decided to assemble under the banner of “ Aitemaad Pakistan ” and begin immediate relief efforts which would later also be extended to the other rehabilitation needs of the affected people.

This is a request on behalf of ‘Aitemaad Pakistan”, a non-government organization, for immediate help and donations, which may be made in cash or kind. We have created a transparent process of fund collection, need assessment and delivery of food, water and other relief items. This is done by our volunteers in co-ordination with local administration and the reliable NGOs working in the affected areas.

Donors could either themselves prepare bags with items mentioned above or make a cash or cheque contribution. Those wishing to volunteer their time and services may please contact us: ataitemaad@gmail.com